Here's another chapter, lightning fast! I miss writing.
"So I personally enjoy the Long Sword over the Hammer, but you use it really well. I prefer the speed and reach over strength, but Levin uses the-"
"Shut. UP! Oh my god, do you have an off switch? Can I use it please?"
"Sorry, I'm just excited. Oh! What's your name?"
"If I tell you, will you promise to shut up at least until we get to Astera?"
"Yes." Bishop said, smiling.
"I'm Elaine Abernathy. I'm a high rank as you've learned. There. Now for the quiet game." She said, sighing in relief for the silence.
As they got into town, Bishop looked around for his friends. That's when he saw them, waving as they ran over.
"Bishop, hello! Who is your new lady friend?" Rogal exclaimed. Rogal was a large man with a friendly smile. He wore his Radobaan armor, as did his Palico, Giles.
"Oh this is-"
"Not his friend." Elaine said, her face deadpan.
"Oh, I see, so she's your girrrrlllllfriend!" interjected Levin. The lankier of the pair, his rusty brown hair and charming smile was over shadowed by his fun loving personality. He wore Tzitzi Ya Ku armor and of course as did his Palico, Joji.
"Not that either. I'm going to the canteen, meet me when you're ready to put on your big boy pants and go on a real mission." Elaine snapped and walked off.
Bishop looked at Levin and Rogal. His two best friends in the world, and he couldn't imagine it any other way. They all purposefully trained themselves with different weapons so it would compliment each other in battle. Bishop had the Long Sword, for reach and power. Levin was the Hunting Horn, for support and morale, and Rogal's was the Switch Blade, for damage and versatility.
"Hey, what's she mean by that?" Levin asked, bonking Bishop on the head.
"Oh! So, that's Elaine. She's a high rank hunter, and I met her kind of by chance. Which is why I didn't wait up for you guys when we got off the ship. Anyways, she stole my grappling hook to take down a Pukei Pukei and managed to break it!"
"Well that doesn't sound like something to be excited about, but go on." Rogal threw in his two cents.
"No! You don't get it! She owes me for it, so instead of taking money, I talked her into letting us tag along on some high rank missions! We'll be high rank hunters in no time! And she uses a hammer, brute strength and all, so its a perfect fit for our group!"
"Wait, really?! Dude, sweet! Come on, let's go! We'll get you a grappling hook and start a real mission!" Levin said.
The three all ran to the Smithy, and there stood Elaine, getting her own grappling hook and no doubt upgrading her hammer. "You were supposed to meet me at the canteen. What took you so long?"
"Sorry, hehe, catching up. We had to get my grapple fixed." Bishop said, setting his broken tool on the work bench. As the workers began to fix his gear, Bishop introduced everyone. The grapples were fixed first, then came Elaine's hammer. Bishop chuckled to himself as the tough girl who he was already used to turned into the girliest person alive, hungering for her new hammer.
"Blooming Hammer III! It's even prettier now that it's mine! Aaaah it looks so cool I can't wait to use this finally!" She turned and froze, remembering that she now had an audience. "WHAT ARE YOU ASSHOLES LOOKING AT!? GO GET READY FOR THIS MISSION, IT'S GOING TO BE HARDER THAN ANYTHING YOU'VE FACED SO FAR AND I'M NOT SPENDING THE WHOLE MISSION BABY SITTING YOU JERKS!" Her face was bright red as she hugged her hammer to her chest.
Bishop laughed and nodded. She actually was kinda cute. She was quite a bit shorter than him, and was obviously younger, even though she tried to act all mature. In fact..she was probably not even 20 yet. She had short brown hair, just barely below her shoulders, and big brown eyes. She wore glasses and had a pretty healthy body type. He shook it off. Nah, he preferred sweet innocent kinds of girls. When he's afraid they'll gut him, he can't really be that attracted.
Bishop, Levin, and Rogal all followed her to the mission board to choose a job. It was so cool seeing all the awesome missions they could choose from. Immediately, Bishop saw a really cool looking job and was about to voice up about it when Elaine grabbed a paper off the wall and handed it to the Handler, who assigned them to the job.
They all crowded around to see what they'd be fighting.
"An Odogaron!?" Bishop exclaimed.
"Mhm. Two of them. As you can see by what I'm wearing, I happen to be very good at fighting these little pests. This should be a good starter for you guys so I can see how you fight and I can finish it myself if it's too hard for you low rank peons."
Levin scoffed indignantly "Hey! We're the top three-"
"I don't care. You're low rank, which doesn't impress me. Do good in this fight, and I might let you join me in a bigger one."
"Who are you that you can call a fight with two Odogarons a good starter?" Rogal crossed his arms as he towered over them all.
"Wait a second..." Levin stopped everything, snapping his fingers as he began to recollect, "Hey! That's Huntress Abernathy, right? I saw a news report about her. She's like...the seventh best high rank hunter! The news said she doesn't take any breaks and doesn't work with anyone. She's going for a G rank! Not only that, she wants to be the number one. Top of the top! And if she succeeds, she'd be the first girl to do it! I think the paper said something about her trying to kill an Elder dragon that destroyed her childhood home and killed her-"
"Shut up! Dear god, are all of you this chatty? Just get your weapons and follow me already!" She turned and walked towards the gate leading out of Astera, towards their targets.
The boys followed behind, chatting among themselves. The journey didn't take too long, and soon the party had arrived at the Rotten Vale. Mostly a sight for sore eyes, the low rank trio thought differently. Despite the musk that smelled like death incarnate, they were awed by the bony wilderness. They quickly followed after Elaine, who was headed straight for her usual hunting spot. Quickly, the group observed the two Odogarons lurking about. They were sizing each other up, obviously in the middle of a turf war. They snapped and snarled at each other viciously. Elaine looked at the boys, ushering them forward, "Well? Impress me. Don't worry, if it gets too overwhelming I'll step in. Go on now."
Bishop nodded before he was suddenly pulled into a huddle with his friends. Helmets inches from each other, they began to form a plan.
Rogal spoke first, "Two targets. Three hunters. Levin is support as usual, so one on one is our best bet."
"We haven't hunted these yet. We're going in with no advantage," Levin scratched his head, uncertain, "Should we separate them and take 'em out one at a time?"
Bishop shook his head, "Hunting isn't our only objective here. We have to show her what we got so she'll take us on more missions. I say we go with Rogal's plan."
Levin paused momentarily, the letting the idea settle in his mind before finally sighing and nodding, "Alright. If you're in a pinch though, just call for me."
"Awesome! I'll go get their undivided attention. Let's go kick some monster tail," Bishop said, holding out a fist. The rest bumped together, ending their meeting and starting the action.
Elaine stood leaning, watching the boys in their little group. She tapped her foot impatiently until finally they finished. Bishop left the hiding spot while Levin and Rogal went a completely different direction. What were they doing? Moving for a better view, she had eyes on Bishop, who was casually strolling up to the monsters. Suddenly, he whipped out a fresh ration. Waving a turkey leg out in the open, he took a ravenous bite, chewing loudly and obnoxiously.
"Oh! Oh god yes!" he groaned out of exaggerated pleasure, "I'm telling ya, this food doesn't just look good."
Having only taken a few bites, he nonchalantly tossed the food behind his back, not stopping his approach. The beasts looked at each other, almost as if asking one another if they knew what was going on.
"Now now, I know what you guys are thinking. What's this guy got that we need?" he continued to taunt them.
Ignoring each other for the time being, the Odogarons both turned to Bishop, teeth bared and drooling buckets onto the ground. They stalked closer and closer to the hunter, slowly closing the distance between them. Bishop still pressed on, showing no concern for his own well being! Elaine, despite her earlier proclamation, was starting to feel anxious as they approached one another. Was she going to keep her promise and step in or let this be a lesson to the young hunter?
"-but back to my point. I have a pitch for you, and I am one hundred percent certain..." he paused, now only feet from the maws of the slobbering monsters.
"...that it's gonna be a huge hit."
Dirt was flung into the air as the plan was put into action. Simultaneously, Levin and Rogal flanked the monsters on the outside, keeping out of sight while Bishop kept their attention. When they were close enough, the duo leaped out from their hiding spots and brought down their weapons on the unprepared monsters. Levin crushed his Odogaron with his pipes, right on the base of its skull. Its head slammed against the ground, dazing it. Rogal left a deep gash along the side of his target's face with his switch blade in axe form, infuriating it as it lashed out at him. Bishop took his chance and unsheathed his long sword as he ran at the dazed Odogaron. His blade slashed at the creature as it kicked out, trying to upright itself. The beast roared as Bishop attacked it. Meanwhile, Rogal was going berserk on his.
After a few minutes of this, the two switched opponents, and the sudden shift threw the Odogarons for a loop. Levin healed a wound on Rogal as Bishop killed his Odogaron. Seconds later, Rogal swung out his switch axe and cut the beasts head off. The fight was over almost as fast as it started. But it wasn't over yet. Another Odogaron had snuck up on the celebrating trio and immediately attacked. With lightning fast swipes, the group was caught unawares.
Elaine rushed in, bringing her hammer down on the ground between the boys and the beast. She turned towards her prey and the boys all looked at her in awe as she got the Odogaron's unbridled attention. She walked towards it at almost a saunter and Bishop wondered what she was going to do. She didn't have the element of surprise like they did. Was she just going to walk up and attack it? Shouldn't she be running?
Elaine held out her hammer and the monster's eyes tracked it. She then dropped the weapon, and the beasts eyes followed. In that same instant, she leaped forward and brought her hands together at lightning speed, making a very loud, echo inducing clap. The Odogaron stood, stunned, and Elain leaped forward bringing her knife to its jugular and slitting its throat. The Odogaron fell, dead, and Bishop, Levin, and Rogal all stared at the huntress with a mix of respect and fear. Were they lucky to be teamed up with someone with that kind of skill? No, were they worthy of it? Probably not. But they weren't looking a gift horse in the mouth on this one.